


i love you in every language

by cherylbarrel



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Cheryl Blossom Needs a Hug, F/F, Fluff, Gift Giving, Hurt/Comfort, Love Languages, Quality Time, Toni Topaz Needs a Hug, Words of Affirmation, acts of service, cheryl and toni are so in love its disgusting, physical touch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-14 12:29:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19273318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherylbarrel/pseuds/cherylbarrel
Summary: The five ways Cheryl and Toni say I love you.An exploration of Cheryl and Toni's relationship shown through the five love languages. Each chapter will focus on a different love language and be filled with different segments relating to that language.(if you don't know what the love languages are you should defo look them up, they're also written in the notes of the first chapter)





	1. words of affirmation

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So this is a weird little thing that popped into my head and I thought it'd be really cute to write. Each chapter will focus on one love language and explore random moments in Choni's relationship that relate to that language. 
> 
> If you don't know what the love languages are, here they are:  
> Words of affirmation  
> Physical touch  
> Receiving gifts  
> Quality time  
> Acts of service 
> 
> Chapter 1 will focus on words of affirmation. 
> 
> Hope you like it!

Cheryl can’t help the smile that pulls at her lips when she opens her locker, and sees the little sticky note taped inside. 

**I love you!  
Hope you have a great day, beautiful x**

She recognizes Toni’s handwriting immediately, though a little messier than usual indicating that the other girl was probably in a hurry when she wrote the note. 

Cheryl stands there for longer than she has time for, eyes filled with adoration as she skims over Toni’s loopy lettering over and over again. 

To most people, it’s probably such a small thing. It was only a note, no more than ten words, a short little message that might not seem all that meaningful on the surface, but truly meant the world to Cheryl. 

It makes her feel loved, to know Toni was thinking about her, to be reminded of Toni’s love for her, to be taken by surprise in the middle of the school day for no other reason than Toni wanting to make her smile. 

She likes when Toni directly tells (or in this case writes) her that she cares about her. It’s easier for Cheryl, leaves less room for her self doubt and insecurities to creep up. She knows Toni loves her, but unless she specifically tells her, sometimes Cheryl can spiral in beliefs that her girlfriend is losing interest. 

It works though, Toni’s never really been the subtle type anyway. 

It’s only a note, but to Cheryl it’s the knowledge that she’s loved and appreciated by someone who she loves and appreciates too. 

A hand on her waist suddenly startlers Cheryl but the soft voice that follows instantly calms her. 

“You got my note,” Toni smiles. 

Cheryl turns around so she’s facing the other girl and without a word she leans in to kiss her. 

It’s quick, they’re in the middle of the school hallways afterall, but the action still has Toni humming with her eyes closed when they part. 

“I love you too,” Cheryl sighs happily, and then she spins back around, taping the note right back to where she found it. She wanted to be greeted with Toni’s words everytime she opened her locker. 

Toni chuckles softly from behind her. 

“I can always write you more, you know,” she teases. 

“I would not object to that,” Cheryl nods in approval. 

Toni grins, sliding her hand down Cheryl’s arm until their hands meet and clasp together. 

“I’ll keep it in mind,” Toni promises.

Cheryl then shuts her locker and the two start walking down the hall, hand in hand, to their next class. 

“Can you write it in red pen next time?” Cheryl asks. 

\---

Toni was stressed. Beyond stressed. Probably the most stressed she’s ever been her whole life. 

Two weeks ago Jughead decided to turn in his leather serpent jacket, stepping down from the throne of leadership, wishing to separate himself from gangs and all the ruthless politics that surrounded them. He said he needed some time to find himself again, and he wanted to be one hundred percent available for Betty right now as they navigate tracking down the farmies and try to figure out where exactly her mother and sister disappeared to. 

He asked Toni to take his place and she agreed without hesitation. The serpents and pretty poisons joined together, effectively merging into one gang all led by Toni, with Cheryl technically holding the title of their Queen, though after the conflict that trying to lead a gang together caused last year, Cheryl decided she’d be less involved in the leadership side of things and simply be there to support Toni. 

It was going well for the most part, and Toni was beyond grateful that the serpents respected her as their new leader after Jughead left. Apparently a lot of them were getting fed up with some of Jughead’s leadership qualities anyway, and regardless of how they felt about Toni, she was one of the original serpents, and had this gang literally flowing through her blood. She deserved the crown. 

Toni was ecstatic when Jughead first told her the news. She wanted to turn the serpents back into the family they once were. She wanted to give southside kids a home, have a support system of people who would always protect each other, and have a strong, united group of people that would fight for their land and history. 

She was happy to lead, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t stressful too. 

Carrying the weight of the crown was a big responsibility, and Toni now had a lot of people counting on her at all times. She didn’t want to let them down, she didn’t want to make mistakes, she was terrified of messing up. 

She’s suddenly the one who has to make every decision, break up all the conflicts, offer solutions to every problem. It’s something she never had to worry about before, and she’s starting to second guess if she can really do this. 

What if she wasn’t good enough? 

It’s a thought that sits heavy on Toni’s mind as she slips into Thistlehouse for the night. She’s been spending a lot more time on the Southside the past couple weeks, having to stay late quite often as different problems that come up steal all her time. 

It luckily hasn’t been much of a problem between her and Cheryl though. They really learned a lot from their past conflict with the pretty poisons. Cheryl will come with her to the southside fairly often, and when she can’t, Toni makes sure to text her often with updates on when she’ll be home. Cheryl is also better about spending time away from Toni, she doesn’t like it, but she understands that it doesn’t mean Toni doesn’t love her anymore, it simply means the other girl is busy but will come back home to her as soon as she can. 

It’s already midnight when Toni gets home, one of the latest nights she’s had with the serpents, and she assumes Cheryl is already sleeping as she creeps down the front hall. 

Though she assumes wrong, as a light from the living room suddenly greets her and she enters the room to find Cheryl still awake on the couch, some show on Netflix playing on the Tv in front of her. 

“TT, you’re home,” Cheryl smiles as soon as she spots Toni enter the room. She stands from the couch and quickly moves to embrace the other girl. 

Toni sinks into the hug, wrapping her arms tight around Cheryl’s waist and dropping her head on the girl’s shoulder. 

“Hi, baby. You didn’t have to wait up for me,” she says, voice slightly muffled. 

“Nonsense, ma cherie. I don’t mind waiting,” Cheryl assures her, pulling back and getting a good look at Toni’s tired and defeated expression when she does. 

Cheryl frowns slightly at that. 

She knows Toni has been hard at work with the serpents lately, but Cheryl is used to seeing the other girl excited at the prospect of rebuilding the gang she once called her family. Sure, she’s always tired after a long day with them, but something seems different tonight. Toni doesn’t have the same hopeful gleam in her eyes that she’s had ever since Jughead passed the torch to her. 

Cheryl pushes some of Toni’s hair back behind her ear, the other girl leaning into the touch when she does. 

“What’s wrong?” Cheryl asks gently, watching Toni with a concerned expression. 

Toni smiles sadly, “Nothing baby, I’m just tired. It’s been a long night.” 

Cheryl isn’t satisfied by the answer, but she decides not to push it quite yet. Toni really does look exhausted, especially standing here in the middle of the living room, barely holding herself up as she sways slightly in Cheryl’s arms. Perhaps she’ll be a little more willing to talk once in bed. 

“Come here,” Cheryl commands softly, making sure to pull Toni close to her as she starts leading them up the stairs to their bedroom. 

Toni seems to sigh in relief at the action, she couldn’t wait to just slip into comfortable sheets and pass out for a good 8 hours. 

The two let go of each other briefly as they get ready for bed. They move around the room wordlessly, going about their nightly routine. Cheryl finishes first, waiting patiently on the bed, face softening when Toni emerges from the bathroom and starts moving towards her. 

They get under the covers, both sinking into the mattress with satisfied sighs, Toni inches closer until her head is resting on Cheryl’s chest, and Cheryl wraps both arms around the girl in response. 

“Why was tonight a long night?” Cheryl asks quietly, mindlessly rubbing one hand up and down Toni’s arm. 

Toni snuggles a little deeper into the other girl, and then she brings one finger up to gently trace the dip in Cheryl’s collarbone. 

“It felt like it was never going to end,” Toni admits, “Every time I finally managed to solve a problem, two more would pop up. It’s just frustrating.” 

Cheryl nods, “It sounds frustrating,” but then, “If anyone can handle it though, it’s you, TT.” 

Toni sighs, “I don’t know, Cher.” 

Cheryl frowns again. 

“You’re an excellent leader, Toni. There’s no better woman for the job.” 

Toni doesn’t answer right away, too caught up with about a thousand different thoughts running through her brain. She can feel two different sides of herself fighting with the other, one side urging her to listen to Cheryl’s words, while the other is dead set on making her believe she will never be good enough to lead. 

“I just…” Toni begins slowly, wincing a little at the words that fall from her mouth next, “What if I’m not good enough? I don’t want to mess this up, the serpents are really important to me, and our entire existence rests on my shoulders...maybe I’m not ready.” 

Cheryl feels her heart ache at the girl’s confession. 

How could Toni possibly think that way about herself. In Cheryl’s eyes, Toni is the obvious choice to lead the serpents, and she’s been doing a fantastic job thus far. She’s wanted this for years, of course she’s ready, she’s just letting her own insecurities get in the way of what’s been inside of her this whole time. 

“Toni, you are more than good enough. In fact, you are the very best. How much you care about your little gang of snakes is exactly what’s going to make you a good leader for them. And even though you probably will make mistakes along the way, that’s the only way to learn and improve, it’s nothing to chastise yourself over.” 

Toni feels a small smile touch her lips at Cheryl’s words and the passionate tone in which she spoke them. She sounds so sure, Toni can’t help but want to believe her. 

“Do you...really think that?” She checks, the doubt not completely shaken yet. 

“I have never been more sure of anything,” Cheryl nods firmly, “You’re amazing, TT, please don’t ever think otherwise. I know I’ve only been with you to the southside a few times since we disbanded the pretty poisons and merged with the serpents, but every time I have, seeing you so determined to help and guide everyone there is truly awe inspiring. You’re finally in your element, it’s beautiful.” 

Toni melts at the words. 

How did she ever get so lucky to have a girl like Cheryl in her life. A girl who supports her unconditionally, who always sees the absolute best in her even when Toni herself has trouble doing so. 

“I love you,” Toni says, lifting her head slightly to leave a kiss on Cheryl’s neck, and the redhead giggles quietly at the feeling. 

“I love you too,” She hums happily. 

Toni knows there are still going to be many times that she feels unsure of herself, there will be many more nights that leave her feeling exhausted, and she knows leading the serpents won’t be easy, but she feels more capable in herself knowing Cheryl has her back. 

It might not seem like a big deal, but Cheryl’s support in her means the world to Toni. She’s never had someone who believed it her like this. Toni grew up without much of a stable family, relatives always ducking in and out of her life and she never really had people to acknowledge her accomplishments. Toni’s used to being on her own and taking care of herself, that’s why sometimes she still has a hard time immediately opening up to Cheryl, though the red haired girl always gets her to eventually. And Toni’s so glad she does. 

Something as simple as Cheryl’s encouraging words makes her feel more loved than ever. 

\---

Cheryl’s certainly come a long way since losing her brother and living under the strict authority of her mother. 

Sophomore year was the lowest of lows for Cheryl. 

She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to live, back then. Everything felt hopeless, she felt as if no one was ever going to love her again after Jason, that no one even cared about her or how catastrophically hellish her life had become. Her mother definitely didn’t, her father was too busy being dead to even try, she didn’t have any real friends. She had nothing, and the emptiness she felt inside reflected that. 

But then she met Toni. 

She met Toni and slowly, but surely, light reentered her life. The hopeless, dark and depressing reality of every single day, started having purpose and light and hope. 

Toni couldn’t magically fix everything on her own, but she made it easier. She showed Cheryl real love, taught her that she isn’t an emotionless monster incapable of forming meaningful relationships. She gave her a chance, and that’s all Cheryl ever wanted.  
She wasn’t lonely anymore. Toni promised to never leave her alone again and Cheryl believed her. 

Cheryl was better. Better than before anyway. 

But…

It didn’t mean that she felt happy all the time and that the demons of her past never popped back up to haunt her. It didn’t mean the nightmares disappeared, or her sadness over missing Jason didn’t creep up on her when she least expected it. It didn’t mean she stopped feeling worthless over a mother who didn’t want her, and it definitely didn’t mean her heart was healed from sixteen years of torture inflicted upon it. 

Cheryl still had bad days. 

Days that would make all the progress feel like it was for nothing. Days that made her feel like she was right back at square one. Even days where she feels like she doesn’t deserve all the good that Toni has brought her. 

Like today. 

Cheryl could feel the sadness washing over her from the moment she woke up. 

She doesn’t know why today of all days, with Toni lying peacefully beside her, a slim beam of light peeking through her curtains. It’s an ordinary morning, they have school in a couple hours but its still plenty of time to lay here and just enjoy each other’s company as they often do in the mornings. With how busy their lives have gotten the past couple months, sometimes these few quiet moments in the morning before school ends up being the best part of their day. 

Cheryl doubts that will be the case this morning though. 

She feels...empty. 

For a reason she can’t even explain. 

Her life is so much better than it was even a year ago, and yet sometimes it doesn’t feel like anything’s changed at all. It makes her feel selfish, like she doesn’t appreciate how far she’s come. 

It’s not fair. 

Cheryl sighs heavily as she thinks of how unfair it truly is.  
Maybe she’s just broken, she ponders. Broken beyond repair. And as much as she tries, or Toni tries, or anyone tries, they’ll never be able to put back the pieces. 

Toni stirs beside her, and Cheryl immediately composes herself, not wanting the other girl to know anything is wrong. 

She shouldn’t be feeling like this anymore, life was good. She didn’t want Toni to get all concerned for no reason. 

Toni hums as she slowly wakes up, one arm tightening around Cheryl’s middle and pulling the girl closer to her sleepy self, which Cheryl has to admit does make the tiniest smile appear on her lips. 

“Good morning, baby,” Toni whispers, kissing Cheryl’s cheek as she does. 

“Morning, TT,” Cheryl softly responds, moving her position so that she can rest her head on Toni’s chest. 

Toni starts gently threading her fingers through Cheryl’s hair, and the girl closes her eyes and sinks deeper into her girlfriend at the feeling. 

This is nice. If she could just stay here all day, no school or people or responsibilities, if she could lay in bed and have Toni cuddle her for hours and hours, then maybe, just maybe, today wouldn’t be so bad. 

But unfortunately, they couldn’t do that. 

“Do you know what time it is, babe?” Toni asks. 

Cheryl only shakes her head no, Toni feeling the action against her skin more than actually seeing it. 

Toni shifts slightly, which has Cheryl grip around her tightening. 

Toni notices and frowns, “One sec, I’m just grabbing my phone,” she promises, stretching her body to reach the phone that rests on the bedside table. 

Once she’s got it, she lies back down, and Cheryl quietly sighs in relief as she goes back to her vice grip around her girlfriend. 

Again, Toni notices, but she chalks it up to Cheryl still being tired...for now. 

“It’s almost seven, we have to get up soon,” Toni groans, looking at her phone screen with a glare as if that will magically make time turn back. 

Those were the last words Cheryl wanted to hear, but she knows moping around in bed all day isn’t an option. 

Maybe going to school will be a good distraction for her anyway. At least she hopes it will be. 

Toni leans down and kisses the top of Cheryl’s head, “You okay, honey?” she asks after a couple quiet moments go by without Cheryl moving or saying anything. 

“Of course, my love,” Cheryl breathes, relishing in the feeling of Toni’s arms around her for just a few seconds longer, before letting go and lifting herself up, “Come on, let’s get ready, we wouldn’t want to be late.” 

 

It turns out, school is not a very good distraction for Cheryl’s slowly deteriorating mood. She feels like a zombie walking into her classes, emotionless and exhausted, and she doesn’t make an effort to talk to anyone either. 

She doesn’t have to worry about falling behind, she’s weeks ahead of the course readings, so for most of her classes she just kind of sits there and spaces out. 

Toni and her don’t have classes together until the afternoon so she doesn’t have to worry about the other girl seeing past her crumbling facade, even though Veronica does give her a few worried looks throughout the duration of chemistry that make Cheryl skin crawl. 

She doesn’t want worried looks or concerned questions. 

She’s _fine._

She doesn’t need anyone to check up on her, she’s used to taking care of herself by this point. 

Cheryl sighs in relief when the lunch bell finally rings. She’s half way through the day and that much closer to going back to bed and shutting out the world for the remainder of the night. 

Toni meets her in the hall and immediately jumps into talking about an upcoming English assignment that she’s excited for, which Cheryl is incredibly grateful for, because it means she can just walk next to the other girl and listen as opposed to trying to come up with something of her own to say. 

“That’s great, TT,” Cheryl tries her best to smile after Toni’s done talking, but it's not quite convincing enough for Toni not to notice something’s up. 

“Hey,” She suddenly stops walking, grabbing Cheryl’s hand and making her stop too, the two of them right outside the cafeteria. 

“Are you okay?” 

Cheryl takes a shaky breath. 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” 

Toni shrugs a little and gently rubs her thumb over Cheryl’s hand, “I’m not sure, you just...you seem a little down. You know you can talk to me baby, right?” 

Cheryl nods, “I know, Toni, but there’s nothing to talk about, I’m fine,” she reasurres her, and then leans closer to the other girl for a quick kiss. 

Toni doesn’t look entirely convinced as they pull away and Cheryl leads them into the cafeteria. 

She knows pushing Cheryl further is probably not the best idea, so instead she just opts to keep a closer eye on the girl for the rest of the day. 

Though, Toni is positive that something is wrong as their lunch period continues and Cheryl hardly touches her food or talks to anyone. Including Toni. 

When lunch ends, Cheryl doesn’t even notice. Toni has to grab her hand to get her attention, and when she does, Cheryl blinks a few times while looking around the cafeteria that everyone is already filing out of. It felt like lunch just started...she didn’t even realize how badly she spaced out. 

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Toni asks again, looking even more worried than before. 

Cheryl sighs, she knows Toni isn’t going to continue to buy her lies or deflections. She messed up, she didn’t hide her feelings well enough and now she’s made Toni worried. It only makes her feel worse the longer they sit there, Toni looking at her with so much love and care that Cheryl knows she doesn’t deserve. 

“I’m sorry, I’m just really tired. Please don’t worry about me,” Cheryl tries to persuade, looking at her girlfriend through a pained expression. 

Toni firmly shakes her head, “You’re my person, Cher, of course I’m going to worry about you.” 

Cheryl feels the threat of tears sting her eyes from the words. 

Toni...Toni didn’t mean that. 

Cheryl shuts her eyes tight as she feels a headache start to come on. She was so confused, with her mind battling itself on what to believe. 

She didn’t want to burden Toni with her feelings, Toni has been putting up with her tears and breakdowns ever since they met and Cheryl fears Toni will leave her once she discovers that Cheryl may never truly be over the tragedies she’s suffered. 

But then Toni says things like what she just said, and it jumbles up all of Cheryl’s thoughts and beliefs and leaves her not knowing what to think. 

Toni loves her and Cheryl knows she does because Toni _tells_ her so, but...but...Cheryl doesn’t know if that’s enough for the other girl. 

“Hey...hey,” Toni whispers, sliding closer to Cheryl and resting her hands on her cheeks. 

“Let me in,” Toni begs, “Please, Cher, please don’t hide from me.” 

“I...I can’t,” Cheryl brokenly responds, the first tear finally falling, and she’s honestly surprised she’s managed not to cry all day until now. 

Toni has to resist the urge to start crying as well. She hates seeing Cheryl like this. Things have been really good lately, but she knew it couldn’t last forever. There will always be ups and downs, and while Cheryl may believe those ups and downs make her selfish, Toni recognizes that they’re a natural part of life, and she doesn’t hold it against Cheryl for even a second. 

“Come with me,” Toni commands in a soft voice, standing from the cafeteria table and then helping Cheryl up too. 

Toni takes Cheryl’s hand again and wordlessly leads her out of the cafeteria.

They have their next class in less than five minutes, and for a moment Cheryl thinks that’s where Toni is leading them. 

But then Toni turns into the girl’s bathroom, letting go of Cheryl for the briefest of seconds just to make sure no one else is there. 

Toni isn’t sure why the high school bathroom of all places has become a frequent location for serious conversations between the couple. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the first conversation they ever had took place right here where they’re standing now, or maybe it’s just sheer coincidence, but regardless she hopes Cheryl will feel a bit more inclined to talk to her now that they have some privacy from the prying eyes of their classmates. 

“It’s just you and me now,” Toni promises, “You can talk to me.” 

Cheryl lowers her head, one of her hands fidgeting with her sweater sleeve nervously as she tries to think of what to say. 

“Baby,” Toni sighs, “I don’t mean to push you, but I want you to trust me, especially with how you’re feeling.” 

Cheryl pouts, and lifts her head a little bit to look at Toni through teary eyelashes, “I don’t want to bother you with it, it’s not a big deal.” 

Toni frowns, “Honey, you could never, ever bother me. I love you.” 

Cheryl’s already weak resolve cracks further and further, and she knows she can’t hold it in any longer. Maybe it’s selfish of her to unload on Toni like this, maybe it makes her an awful person that she can’t be happy with everything she has, but in this moment she just can’t pretend anymore. 

“I...I just don’t want you to leave me,” Cheryl cries, “I know I’m too much to handle and I know it’s annoying, so I’m trying not to annoy you, Toni, I promise I’m trying.” 

Toni’s heart breaks at that. 

How could Cheryl ever think that way, that she could be annoying or a burden to Toni. Toni loves her, loves every single part of her, she wouldn’t change a single thing, doesn’t Cheryl know that? 

“Cheryl,” Toni speaks softly, moving closer to the girl as she does, “I won’t ever leave you, especially not over you being honest with me. I don’t want you to try to do anything except be yourself with me. I’m here, babe, I’m here through the good and the bad parts, and you’re not going to scare me away that easily.” 

“But everything’s supposed to be good,” Cheryl sniffles, “Nothing even happened, I just woke up and everything was dark again after it being light for so long... I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” 

“Nothing is wrong with you,” Toni promises, taking Cheryl by the waist and pulling her closer for a hug, Cheryl immediately crashing into Toni at the action and crying into her shoulder. 

“Sometimes days like today just happen, and it isn’t your fault when they do. I know it’s hard, but it doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you. Life is...life is complicated, and I wish it could be good all the time but it can’t and that’s normal. You just have to take it one day at a time, and I know you can because you’re the strongest girl I know, and you’ll always have me by your side too. I’ll be here for as long as you want me, doing my best to keep you happy, but on the days that I can’t I can still hold you and talk to you and do whatever I can to make all those bad thoughts in your head go away, but you have to let me. You have to talk to me.” 

Cheryl slowly pulls away, her eyes are still full of devastating sadness when they meet Toni’s, but there’s perhaps a speck of light there that wasn’t before. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. 

“Don’t be,” Toni tells her sincerely. 

Cheryl’s touched by Toni’s words, even if deep down she already knew what Toni would say, she needed to be reminded. 

“I-I’ll try...to talk to you more I mean,” Cheryl shakily says. 

Toni nods, “Good. I’m proud of you honey.” 

Cheryl melts back into Toni’s arms at that. 

Toni lets a small smile appear on her lips at the action. 

“Let’s go home,” she says. 

Cheryl frowns, “But what about school--” 

“Forget school,” Toni interjects, “I’d rather be home cuddling my girl, yeah?” 

Cheryl smiles too, “Yeah.” 

And so that’s what they do, because good or bad day, nothing would ever be as important as taking care of each other. 

\---

Cheryl bites her bottom lip while she watches Toni progressively grow more frustrated with the textbook in front of her. 

The couple was seated in the school library, utilizing their lunch period as a very needed studying session since final exams were quickly approaching. Their first exams were in classes that they didn’t share so they haven’t been able to help each other much, instead they opted to just sit next to each other while separately working on their own material. 

It’s been their routine for a while now, but as the days went by, Cheryl noticed how Toni would always put off doing her AP History readings, getting through about one paragraph of text before quickly shutting the book and moving on to something different. 

Though as the days dwindled by, Toni studied the rest of her subjects until she could whip through stacks of flashcards in minutes, finishing everything except the dreaded History readings. 

Now it’s the only thing left to do until her and Cheryl move on to their shared classes, but no matter how hard she tries she just can’t get herself to focus on the dull text for more than a few minutes. 

Just as Cheryl gets back to balancing the sheet of practice chemical equations in front of her, another heavy sigh from Toni has her moving her attention back to her girlfriend. 

“Everything ok, darling?” She asks, tilting her head in concern. 

“This is so boring,” Toni whines, dropping the textbook on the table and throwing her head back with a groan. 

Cheryl frowns. 

“How much do you have to read?” She asks. 

“The exam covers the last ten chapters,” Toni sighs, and then, “Even if I do get through it, I’ll never be able to remember this shit.” 

“Don’t say that, TT. You’re building it up too much in your head, just take it one chapter at a time,” Cheryl tries to encourage her. 

Toni only sighs again, “I think I need a break.” 

She stands from the table, Cheryl quickly asking, “Do you want me to come with you?” 

“No, no,” Toni shakes her head, “I’m gonna go get some water or something. Keep studying, babe, I don’t want to interrupt,” she says, leaning down and leaving a kiss on Cheryl’s cheek. 

“Ok, I love you,” Cheryl says.  
Toni smiles softly, “I love you too.” 

She leaves the library after that, very much needing the break to clear her head and hopefully bring her focus back. 

While she’s gone, Cheryl stares at her still open History book for a long moment, her own work forgotten as she tries to come up with a way to help Toni. 

And then an idea hits her. 

Cheryl picks up a stack of sticky notes, a grin spread wide across her face as she also slides Toni’s textbook to her side of the table, before getting to work. 

 

Toni walks into Thistlehouse that afternoon dreading what’s to come. 

Cheryl’s still at school running vixens practice, but Toni knew she needed to finish her History reading if she wanted to stay on track with her studying, so after a very guilty, yet unnecessary apology to Cheryl about skipping vixens, Toni came home to do just that.

“I’m sorry, Cher, you swear you don’t mind?” Toni checked, standing in the girl’s locker room while her fellow vixens around her got ready for practice. 

“TT, you need not even ask. Go home, I’ll see you later,” Cheryl tells her honestly. 

“You’re the best,” Toni smiles, leaning in and kissing the other girl softly. 

They get lost for a moment, forgetting that they aren’t alone and in fact in a small room with a bunch of other girls, when Veronica pipes up and breaks them apart in the process. 

“You know, I have a lot of studying to do too! Can I get the practice off?” She exclaims, her hands resting on her hips. 

Cheryl raises a brow at the other girl, “Nope, but you can run an extra lap during warm up instead.” 

Toni chuckles as Veronica just huffs in annoyance, “The favouritism is so unfair,” she mumbles. 

Cheryl rolls her eyes and then turns back to Toni, “Go, and actually study this time,” she gives her a pointed look. 

“I’m on it,” Toni promises.

Which is how she got here, sitting at the desk in her and Cheryl’s bedroom, pulling her textbook out of her bag, determined to actually get through it this time. 

She places it down on the desk and stares at the closed book for probably way too long. 

Her phone was sitting a few inches away from the book and she was immensely tempted to pick the device up and scroll through a couple social media apps first, but no, she couldn’t. She told Cheryl she would study and she knew she had to at least try to follow through with that plan before wasting the next hour and a half on her phone. 

She opens the book, flips to the page she’s supposed to be on, and then-- 

And then something catches her eye. 

There’s a sticky note stuck to the middle of the page, a message in bright red pen written across it that instantly makes Toni smile. 

**Hi baby!**  
**I know you’re having a really hard time**  
**with this reading, so I thought of a way**  
**to help motivate you!**  
**After you left the library this afternoon**  
**I wrote out a hundred reasons why I love you**  
**on a hundred sticky notes and placed them randomly**  
**throughout the next ten chapters.**  
**If you want to find them all you have to read**  
**all the chapters. No cheating!!!**  
**You’ll get the first reason on the next page.**  
**xo**

Toni is completely beaming when she finishes reading the note. 

“Cheryl Blossom I do not deserve you,” She whispers to herself, still staring at the little note with awe filled eyes. 

She removes the note from the page and sets it down on the desk, and for the first time in weeks she reads through the first page with her full focus, doing her best to absorb the information. 

As promised, when she flips the page, she’s greeted with another note written in identical red ink, though this time it’s much shorter. 

**You are the most understanding**  
**and supportive person I have**  
**ever met. xo**

Toni grins as she picks up the note and places it down with the other one. There’s no doubt in her mind that, that sentiment goes right back to Cheryl. This is the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for Toni. 

It takes two more pages for Toni to get to the next note, but she doesn’t cheat per Cheryl’s wishes, she reads through the pages first, and opens her notebook up next to her to make a few notes while she does so she really remembers the material. 

**You have the prettiest smile  
in the whole universe! xo**

Toni makes a small pile of the notes she finds, slowly collecting them as she reads further and further into the book. 

**You’re an amazing leader. xo**

**Looking into your eyes always  
takes my breath away. xo**

**You have such a pretty singing voice! xo**

**You get adorably clingy when you’re**  
**really tired, even if you’ll never**  
**admit it. xo**

**You’re so smart, more than you give**  
**yourself credit for. The world doesn’t**  
**even know how much of a genius**  
**my girl is. xo**

****

**You always know the right thing to say, you**  
**even know when the right thing to say is**  
**nothing at all. xo**

**You make me feel safe. xo**

**You have a great butt! xo**

**You defend me. Even though sometimes**  
**I don’t think I deserve it, you do it**  
**anyway, and I don’t think you know**  
**how much that means to me. xo**

**You’re loyal to a fault. xo**

The notes go on and on, and with each new one Toni finds, she’s deeper into her textbook. She’s so giddy to find each new note, that stopping her reading isn’t even an option in her mind. Suddenly she doesn’t mind reading through ten boring chapters of AP History text, not if it means she gets to read Cheryl’s adorable notes alongside it. 

It’s going so well, that Toni actually manages to get to the end of chapter ten in just over an hour. 

She doesn’t even realize she’s gotten all the way to the end of the chapter, not until she finds the final note. 

**You did it!**  
**I’m so proud of you, TT :)**  
**Now, for your final reason…**  
**You are my soulmate, Toni Topaz.**  
**I’ll love you no matter what because**  
**there is no other person in the world**  
**that could ever compare to you.**  
**As long as I have you by my side,**  
**I’ll never need anything else for**  
**as long as I live. xo**

Toni’s close to tears by the time she finishes. 

She looks at the stack of notes, all one hundred of them, and truly can’t believe Cheryl did something like this for her. 

Just on time, the sound of the front door opening from downstairs reaches Toni’s ears, and the girl quickly springs up and runs out of the bedroom. 

Cheryl comes through the door, still wearing her vixens shirt and gym shorts when she does. 

She doesn’t even take more than three steps before Toni comes crashing into her, wrapping her arms around the girl and hugging her tight which has Cheryl squealing in surprise. 

“I love you,” Toni breathes into the girl’s neck. 

Cheryl grins after getting her bearings back a bit. 

“I take it you found the notes.” 

“All one hundred of them,” Toni pulls back, but not moving her arms from around the girl’s waist. 

Cheryl squints her eyes in suspicion, her voice turning very serious as she asks, “You didn’t cheat did you?” 

Toni chuckles, “No baby. I finished the reading, finding your notes motivated me to get through the whole thing. I owe you like, a million thank you’s.” 

Cheryl’s smile quickly reappears, “That’s great, Toni!” She exclaims, “And you owe me nothing, I wanted to help.” 

“Still…” Toni trails, pulling the girl closer, moving her eyes up and down her body, which Cheryl definitely takes note of. 

“Maybe I can...show you how thankful I am,” Toni says, a glint in her eyes when she does. 

Cheryl smirks, sliding her hand up to the collar of Toni’s shirt and toying with the fabric a little. 

“Maybe you can,” she whispers, moving closer and closer, eyes stuck on Toni’s lips until Toni surges forward and captures her lips in her own. 

Not too long after that, both girls run up the stairs and into their bedroom, giggling as they fall onto the bed, kissing and teasing the other. The stack of notes resting on the desk a few feet away from them, where they would stay for quite awhile.


	2. physical touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> physical touch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter two is here! this ones on physical touch, I hope you enjoy it!

Cheryl and Toni are sitting in the student lounge, both squished into the same corner of the same couch, Cheryl with her legs over Toni’s lap, and her face practically buried in her girlfriend’s neck. 

Toni’s giggling quietly at the way Cheryl’s gentle butterfly kisses graze her neck. 

“Baby, that tickles,” She whispers for only Cheryl to hear, and the redhead's smile grows tenfold when she hears the quiet confession. 

Cheryl loves pulling this softer, cuter side of Toni out of her. To anyone else, Toni is the big, bad, scary gang leader that carries a switchblade and rides a motorcycle and has never left the house without some form of leather on her body, but Cheryl gets to see many more sides to the mysterious girl. 

She gets to witness Toni’s adorably cuddling personality that comes out when she’s tired, she gets to see her poorly disguised tears after watching a particularly sad movie, and she gets to hear her almost childlike giggles at the lightest of touches from her girlfriend’s lips. 

Toni brings one hand up to hold the back of Cheryl’s head, humming in content as Cheryl ceases her kisses and simply lays there, using Toni’s collarbone as her pillow. 

They sit there in silence for a few minutes. Doing nothing more than enjoying the close company and the way their bodies seem to perfectly mold together. 

Cheryl and Toni don’t always need words to express their affection to one another. Words are nice, but sometimes the feeling of arms around bodies or lips on necks can be just as meaningful. 

And they love the closeness. 

Both girls were bordering on touch starved before getting together, but now they have someone to hold whenever they please, and at first that revelation was electrifying. 

“Just the couple I was looking for!” It’s not long before a cheery voice interrupts their bubble of peace. 

Veronica struts into the student lounge, heels clicking against the floor, with Archie trailing not far behind. 

Toni chuckles quietly at the way Cheryl groans into her neck at the other girl’s sudden appearance. 

Veronica stops right in front of the pair, a small smile on her lips when she sees how completely tangled together they are. It’s cute. And Veronica is happy to see that both these girls have found a comfort in one another. 

“I am here to cordially invite you both to mine for a party this evening,” Veronica announces proudly, though it doesn’t quite match Archie’s hesitant body language, as he comes to stand next to his girlfriend with a hand rubbing the back of his neck. 

Cheryl and Toni are equally confused at the news, brows furrowing, as Cheryl is the one to pipe up and ask, “A party? Ronnie, aren’t you a little busy trying to get your mom out of jail to throw a party?” 

Veronica straightens up at the words, shoulders tensing, her lips moving into a tight smile, while Archie seems to only wince beside her. 

“I’m still working on that,” she informs the couple with a forced cheeriness in her voice, “however, in the meantime, I have a beautiful penthouse apartment all to myself, there’s no better time to throw a party if you ask me.” 

Cheryl and Toni turn to each other to share a look. 

“Sure, V. Maybe we’ll stop by,” Toni answers for the both of them, and Veronica instantly lights back up at the words. 

“Excellent! I hope to see you there,” she tells them sincerely, before spinning around and walking away, a simple, “Come on, Archie,” leaving her lips as she does. 

Archie doesn’t leave right away though, he waits until Veronica is out of earshot and then looks at the couple in front of him sheepishly. 

“Listen guys, between you and me, I don’t think Ronnie’s been doing so well since her mom...you know. Please come tonight, I think it’d be good for her to have all her friends around right now,” He tells them, making sure to keep his voice low so other people in the lounge can’t eavesdrop. 

“That much is obvious,” Cheryl says, eyes still trained on the spot Veronica once stood. 

She has to admit, she does feel bad for the other girl. Cheryl knows a thing or two about losing your parents to a life of crime, and she knows Veronica hasn’t had an easy time coming to terms with just how deep her parent’s crimes run. 

“We’ll be there,” Toni nods, Archie offering her a weak smile when she does. 

“Cool. Thanks guys,” he says, quick to leave the lounge, before Veronica starts to wonder why he isn’t by her side anymore. 

“You’re fine with stopping by tonight, right?” Toni checks, turning back towards her girlfriend, “Because if you’re not, we can totally forget about it.” 

“No, no, we should go, TT,” Cheryl says, raising her head to meet Toni’s eyes, “We should be good friends.” 

Toni smiles, and then, she leans in, capturing Cheryl’s lips in her own, both girls melting into the action. 

When they pull away, they keep their foreheads pressed together, breathing softly in the space between them, and Toni whispers, “Just promise not to leave my side.” 

Cheryl gently raises one of her hands to cradle Toni’s face, smoothing her thumb over the other girl’s cheek. 

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” 

 

Veronica’s party is in full swing, almost the entirety of their grade finding themselves in her penthouse this evening. It turns out Veronica wasn’t the only one looking for a way to distract herself from the daunting horrors of teenage emotion. Everyone was looking for an excuse to blow off steam, and a party was the perfect place to do so. 

When Cheryl and Toni arrive, they enter the front door hand in hand, with their shoulders brushing as they maneuver past the hoards of people. 

“I definitely need a drink,” Toni decides after taking one look at the football team, half of which are shirtless and competitively chugging beer. 

“Lead the way, TT,” Cheryl nods in agreement, and the two of them make their way straight to Veronica’s kitchen. 

“How is this place already so trashed?” Toni rolls her eyes as the sight of one to many abandoned plastic cups and multiple spills along the countertop, greet her eyes. 

“Are you really all that surprised?” Cheryl comments airly, and the more Toni thinks about it... no, she really isn’t. 

The two girls move behind the kitchen island where a plethora of alcohol awaits them, their hips are pressed together as they lean against the counter and truthfully they don’t even notice the close proximity. They’ve spent so much time both figuratively and literally attached at the hip that at this point, moving their bodies closer together isn’t even a conscious decision. 

Toni grabs one of the bottles by its neck and turns to Cheryl with a smirk dancing on her lips. 

“Let me make you a drink?” She requests, always eager to put the knowledge she gained working at the Whyte Wyrm to good use. 

Cheryl hums, a look of amusement on her face as she responds, “Don’t let me down, TT.” 

“When have I ever?” Toni scoffs, but then she bumps the other girl’s hip lightly against her own, a small smile on her lips. 

“You came!” A loud voice suddenly pops up next to them, and Cheryl and Toni both turn their heads to come face to face with Veronica, who is absolutely beaming at the sight of them, whilst walking closer on two shaky legs. 

“I’m so glad you’re here,” She slurs, grabbing Cheryl by the shoulders and wrapping her up in a tight hug that has the redhead squeaking in surprise. 

Veronica snakes her arm out and gets ahold of Toni’s wrist as well, pulling the girl closer until the three of them have formed a messy group hug, though both Cheryl and Toni seem eager to free themselves from the uncomfortable hold. 

“You doing alright, V?” Toni asks hesitantly, detaching herself from Veronica’s grasp before subtly pulling Cheryl towards her by the girl’s waist, successfully breaking the two girls apart. 

“I’m doing marvelous!” Veronica cheerfully announces, though it’s quite obvious that her mood is elevated by the amount of alcohol currently in her system and nothing more. 

Veronica reached somewhat of a breaking point this evening. She’s spent weeks mulling over her parents, talking to multiple different lawyers about what they can do to free her mother from cell bars as well as her father’s clutches, and coming to terms with the reality that she very well may have lost both her parents for good. 

In actuality, she was feeling quite hopeless, but that’s nothing a good party and good booze couldn’t fix. 

“Where’s Archie?” Cheryl questions her softly, figuring the boy probably wouldn’t want to leave Veronica’s side for long during this particular night.   
The question seems to stump Veronica, eyes widening as she racks her brain for an answer. 

“I don’t know!” She worriedly responds, “I lost him! Please Cheryl will you help me find him?” 

Veronica all but begs, hands clasping together in front of her face as she pleadingly looks at the other girl. 

Cheryl turns her head over her shoulder to share a look with Toni. 

“Go,” Toni encourages, “Help her find him, I’ll be here waiting.” 

Cheryl leans forward and her and Toni share a brief kiss,

“I’ll be back before you know it,” Cheryl promises, and she’s tempted to lean in again, like a magnet, unable to resist the sheer force that is calling her towards her girlfriend. 

Though she never gets the chance to, because Veronica takes her by the hand and starts dragging her away into the depths of the party, which leaves Cheryl blowing a kiss in Toni’s direction before disappearing around the corner. 

Toni watches her go fondly, before turning back to the drinks and mixing herself one. 

Once she has that stereotypical red plastic cup in her hand, she spots a few of the pretty poisons in the other room chatting, and decides to go over and pass the time with them, doing her best to avoid the slight nagging feeling in her heart that calls for Cheryl to be back by her side where Toni knows she safe. She has to ignore it, her and Cheryl can manage fifteen minutes apart from each other at a party. 

 

“Ronnie, I really don’t think Archie got lost under your bed,” Cheryl rolls her eyes, a smirk on her face as she leans against Veronica’s bedroom door frame, the other girl laying face down on the floor next to her bed. 

“You don’t know that!” Veronica argues, scanning under her bed for any signs of that familiar red hair and six pack. 

When Archie is inevitably not found hiding under Veronica’s bed, the girl starts to tear up, her drunk and emotional mind not knowing what else to do. 

“He’s gone,” she cries while sinking defeatedly into the floor. 

“Ok, this is getting too sad to watch...even for me,” Cheryl mumbles, walking towards the other girl and pulling her up from the ground by her shoulders. 

“Come on, Ronnie, stand up,” Cheryl beckons, the girl following her instructions though her movements are incredibly sloppy. 

Veronica collapses into her friend once she’s standing back on two feet, tears soaking through Cheryl’s crop top, the redhead having no other choice but to stand there, awkwardly patting Veronica’s back in comfort as she cries. 

“I’m never going to see Archie ever again,” Veronica sniffles pathetically. 

“Yes you will,” Cheryl sighs, “He’s probably looking for you right now.” 

“No, he’s gone, Cheryl! He’s gone forever.” 

Cheryl internally groans, doing a serious self evaluation while asking herself if she too is this dramatic when she’s drunk. 

With her sober mind, Veronica’s antics seem entirely ridiculous, though Cheryl can imagine her acting in a similar manner if she lost Toni after a few too many drinks… 

“Oh thank god,” Cheryl whispers, finally spotting Archie appear at the door. 

“Ronnie, there you are!” He says in relief, Veronica perking up the second she hears his voice, disconnecting herself from Cheryl’s arms and running straight into Archie’s instead. 

“Archie, you’re alive!” She happily exclaims, the two hugging each other close. 

Archie furrows his brows, shooting a questioning look to Cheryl from over Veronica’s shoulders. 

She simply shrugs in response, walking past the reunited couple and patting Archie’s back on the way out, “She’s all yours, Romeo.” 

Cheryl exits the bedroom, relieved to finally get back to Toni. It hasn’t even been long since they separated, but Cheryl is already so done with dealing with any other human being that don’t go by the name of Toni Topaz. 

Which is exactly why, as if the universe wanted to have a good laugh, Reggie ends up stopping her in the hallway right outside Veronica’s bedroom. 

The boy isn’t exactly looking his best, he’s a little out of breath, eyes red, appearing completely defeated as he stares at Veronica’s bedroom door. 

“Did Archie find Ronnie?” He asks Cheryl, looking at the other girl intensely, and Cheryl is left to wonder when the hell did she become apart of this depressing love triangle. 

“Yup,” she answers simply, immediately trying to move past the boy and hoping that’s the end of it. 

“Dammit,” Reggie sighs, and Cheryl’s about two seconds away from tearing his arm off after he reaches out and grabs her wrist to get her to stop walking. 

“I was trying to distract Archie,” he drunkenly admits, “I mean, fuck! I should be in there comforting her, not him.” 

Cheryl sighs deeply, really contemplating what her level of responsibility is in this situation. She wants nothing more than to tell Reggie to fuck off and leave her alone, so she can get back to her girlfriend, have a couple of drinks to hopefully calm her growing annoyance, and try to enjoy what’s left of this night in relative peace. 

But for whatever reason, Ice Queen Cheryl Blossom doesn’t have the heart to follow through with that plan. 

“Listen, Reggie,” She starts, looking at the boy intently “You care about Veronica, don’t you?”

“More than anything,” He rapidly nods. 

“Then you need to give her some space,” Cheryl tells him slowly, “Archie’s making her happy right now, don’t you want her to be happy?” 

Reggie looks down at the floor sadly, “Yeah, I guess so.” 

“Just leave her alone for now, it’s what’s best for both of you,” Cheryl says, once again trying to shuffle past Reggie. 

She gets to the other side of the boy, but he’s quick to spin around and grab her once again, “Wait!” 

Cheryl really is about to snap this time. 

Reggie might have been drunk, but she does _not_ enjoy being grabbed at against her will, and she’s seconds away from making that abundantly clear to the boy, but before she can, someone does it for her. 

“Hands off my girl, Mantle!” Toni angrily barks at him, the girl appearing around the corner, looking even more annoyed than Cheryl is at the situation that greets her. 

“I-I wasn’t trying anything,” Reggie nervously stutters, immediately letting go of Cheryl. 

“I don’t care,” Toni hisses, “Get lost before you piss me off even more.” 

Reggie finally does just that, ducking past the two girls with his gaze lowered. 

“You’re hot when you’re possessive,” Cheryl smirks, letting Toni pull her closer by the waist until the two are standing with no more than an inch or so of space between them. 

“I don’t like seeing anyone’s hands on you but mine,” Toni growls lightly, but there’s a certain slur to her words as well that indicate she’s at least a few drinks in. 

Cheryl groans loudly as she realizes, “God, why am I the only sober person left at this party.” 

Toni pouts, “I’m not drunk.” 

“No,” Cheryl hums, “But you’re getting there,” she boops the tip of Toni’s nose, the other girl blinking in surprise at the action. 

“Well, come on. Let’s get you that drink finally,” Toni declares, refusing to let go of Cheryl as they start to move, keeping at least one arm wrapped tightly around her. 

Cheryl chuckles at her girlfriend’s behaviour, “You going to let me walk on my own?” 

“Nope,” Toni shrugs. 

 

Cheryl ends up deciding not to drink much. She was planning to, but after seeing Toni progressively get tipsier, having a difficult time keeping her balance and speaking with clear speech, Cheryl would rather stay alert enough to keep an eye on the other girl. 

Truthfully though, it wasn’t really necessary, because Toni sure as hell wasn’t letting Cheryl out of her sight either. 

The combination of a few drinks and the image of Reggie Mantle’s hand on her girlfriend’s body, has made Toni particularly clingy. 

Not that Cheryl’s complaining.   
Toni spends the rest of that night pulling Cheryl into her lap every chance she gets and kissing her for being “absurdly pretty” as Toni puts it. 

And Cheryl is happy to oblige her, even teasing Toni by pretending to walk away and having Toni quickly wrap her back up in her arms with a pout. 

It’s adorable, and Cheryl fully intends to take advantage of the uncommon change of pace between them. 

She’s usually the unbearably clingy type, but seeing Toni act this way has Cheryl giggling all night long. 

Cheryl can’t help but feel how loved she is everytime Toni slides a hand down her arm or kisses her with a huge grin that Cheryl can feel pressed against her lips. 

Whether in the student lounge, at a party, or even in the privacy of their own bedroom, Cheryl will never get over how special she feels at something as simple as Toni’s touch, and how lucky she is that she’s the only girl who Toni happily puts her barriers down for, still the tough gang member she always was, but a tough gang member that can’t take her hands off her girlfriend for more than five minutes after a couple of drinks. 

\---

“Are you sure you don’t need to be with the serpents?” Cheryl asks, not being able to hide the slight lilt of guilt in her voice when she does. 

Toni looks at her pointedly. She’s already answered this question about fifteen times today, though it seems nothing she says has Cheryl entirely convinced. 

Toni slides forward from where she’s sitting on their bed, coming to a stop right on the edge of the mattress on the side closest to where Cheryl is sitting at her vanity. 

She doesn’t say anything at first, she’s been trying to ease Cheryl’s worries with words all day and it doesn’t seem to be working anyway. 

Toni beckons her girlfriend closer with her finger, and through a quiet sigh, Cheryl stands and moves closer to the other girl. She stops right in front of Toni, standing between the girl’s legs, but Toni takes it a step further, gently holding Cheryl’s hips and helping the girl sit on her lap. 

With Cheryl straddling Toni, and Toni’s arms wrapped tight around the other girl’s middle, they sit there for a moment, Cheryl feeling more and more of her anxiety leave her body the longer she’s held by Toni. 

Toni moves her face into the crook of Cheryl’s neck, leaving a soft kiss there before whispering, “Thursday’s are your day, babe. We already talked about this.” 

Cheryl sinks deeper into Toni, her bottom lip coming to rest between her teeth somewhat nervously. 

“I know, but I don’t want to make things more stressful for you. If you have to go, It’s okay,” She says, though they both know the words don’t hold as much sincerity as Cheryl’s trying to give them. 

“They can survive one night a week without me. Tonight is about you, baby.” 

In order not to fall back into the same problems they had last year when trying to juggle a healthy relationship whilst leading a gang, Cheryl and Toni made a couple of rules after Jughead passed on the serpent crown to Toni. 

The first was simple, at least one night a week they’d have a completely gang free evening. Toni made it clear to the serpents that she’d always be busy on thursdays, unless there was an absolute emergency. On thursday, their only priorities were each other, and it ensured that no matter how hectic their schedules got, they’d always have a night to look forward to. 

Cheryl loved thursdays, it didn’t even matter what the couple did, just being together without the interruption of all their responsibilities, made her completely ecstatic. 

Though, Cheryl couldn’t help the inkling of doubt that occasionally entered her mind as each new thursday rolled around. 

She knows how crazy hard Toni has been working with the serpents, keeping them out of trouble, finding them jobs that they could support themselves with, making sure each one of them had a roof over their head and food in their stomach. 

Cheryl fears Toni will resent these nights they spend together if they end up making her fall behind with the serpents. 

“Are you sure?” Cheryl checks again, and she can feel Toni’s body vibrate as she chuckles above her. 

“Cheryl, you’ve asked me that like, a hundred times.” 

“Have not,” the redhead grumbles. 

Toni only hums in response, and then she lies back on the bed, changing their position so that Cheryl is lying on top of her as opposed to sitting in her lap. 

Cheryl lifts her head up, supporting it on her elbow, her and Toni’s legs still tangled together but now she’s able to see the other girl’s face. 

“You’d tell me if I was too needy, right?” Cheryl asks quietly, watching as Toni’s smile falls at the question. 

Toni raises her hand, bringing it up to cradle Cheryl’s cheek, taking a second to just admire the girl above her, trying to conjure up what exactly she did to deserve such a stunning girl’s affections. 

“You act like you’re the only one who wants to spend time together,” Toni says sadly. 

Cheryl frowns. 

She didn’t mean to make it come across that way. 

“I’m always counting down the days until we get to hang out like this. No gangs or school or town mysteries to solve,” Toni rolls her eyes after that one, “Just you and me, that’s the way I want to spend the rest of my life, you know.” 

Cheryl looks at the other girl with admiration all but pouring out of her eyes. 

“You do?” She wonders, an unbelievably hopeful tone to her voice. 

Toni smiles, knowing this is another one of those moments where she doesn’t need words to express her sincerity. 

“Come here,” she whispers, sliding her hand over the back of Cheryl’s neck, pulling her closer, Cheryl collapsing back into her as their lips meet, melding together perfectly. 

Their bodies are impossibly close, and yet they still push themselves closer together, not even willing to bare the smallest gaps of space between them. 

The hand at the back of Cheryl’s neck slides up, Toni threading her fingers in that gorgeous red hair she loves so much. 

Cheryl has her hands at Toni’s shoulders, but it isn’t long before Toni flips the pair over, and with Toni now above her, Cheryl wraps her arms around the girl’s neck, effectively trapping her in their embrace. 

They kiss for a long time. 

Cheryl bites Toni’s bottom lip, which has the girl growling lightly as she uses her hips to push Cheryl further into the mattress. 

And it continues like that, teasing and playful, before they eventually part, both quietly catching their breaths. 

“God, I love you,” Toni says, closing her eyes, forehead resting against Cheryl’s. 

“I love you,” Cheryl hums in response, suddenly feeling a lot less guilty about keeping Toni for herself this evening. 

Why shouldn’t she? Toni is her girlfriend after all, and she deserves this time with her. 

“Okay, let’s go to Pop’s now,” Toni suddenly says, removing herself from Cheryl and standing back up. 

“What!” Cheryl exclaims with a heavy pout on her lips, “You’re not going to finish what you started?” 

Toni laughs, looking at Cheryl still on the bed with a smirk, “I’m hungry,” she shrugs. 

Cheryl huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“You’re such a tease.”

“I’m sorry, baby,” Toni grins, and then slowly drags Cheryl closer to the edge of the bed by her hips, “Dinner first, then we can come straight back home, yeah?” 

“Fine,” Cheryl agrees, sitting up, and pecking Toni’s lips one more time as they come face to face. 

 

Toni leads Cheryl into Pop’s diner by her hand, taking them to their usual booth close to the back. 

Toni slides into her side first, and is slightly taken aback when Cheryl slides in right next to her as opposed to taking the booth opposite to her. 

Cheryl wastes no time pushing herself right up next to her girlfriend, taking Toni’s hand back in her own as she asks, “Thought you were getting rid of me that easily?” 

Toni shakes her head in amusement, she should have seen this coming. 

“You might as well be sitting in my lap,” she jokes, as that’s truly the only thing stopping them from being any closer. 

“You’re right,” Cheryl decides, lifting herself up to do just that, Toni laughing as she quickly wraps her arms around the girl to hold her in place. 

“There, much better,” Cheryl says, turning to the side so that she can still look at Toni. 

Toni smiles up at her, staring at this girl with more love than she even knew she had inside of her. 

“Yeah,” she answers dreamily, “Much better.” 

\--- 

“I’d like to point out, I never technically agreed to this,” Cheryl speaks up, her and Toni standing outside on the patio in front of Thistlehouse, while hoards of longtime and new serpent members alike come shuffling onto the property, sleeping bags and tents under their arms, backpacks slung over their shoulders. 

Toni grins, “Well, you didn’t say no, either.” 

Cheryl takes a good look at her crowded yard, watching as more leather jackets than she can count start occupying all the free space left, and with her arms crossed over her chest, she hums, “A misstep on my part, clearly.” 

Toni rolls her eyes, and grabs Cheryl’s wrist to turn the girl towards her. 

“It’s not going to be that bad, I promise.” 

Cheryl nods. 

It’s not like she would ever truly deny Toni of using _their_ home as a temporary refuge for the serpents, regardless of her feelings on the matter she’d have to suck it up until further notice. Besides, Toni was right, it wouldn’t be all that bad. Toni was happy, and as long as she was happy, nothing could ever be all that bad. 

“I’m this close to getting everyone back with a roof over their heads, they’ll be gone before you know it, but in the meantime at least I can offer them safety here.” Toni explains, looking hopeful at the prospect of finally getting the serpents back to where they once were. 

Cheryl’s tense posture softens at that. 

She even smiles as she says, “I know, TT, and I’m really proud of all the progress you’re making.” 

Toni turns to her appreciatively, “Thanks, Cher,” she then pulls the girl closer, resting her head on Cheryl’s shoulder with a content sigh. 

Cheryl rests her own head on top of Toni’s, the both of them just enjoying the moment. 

It would be a big change, but they’ve handled much worse. 

“If we’re going to spend the next couple weeks playing summer camp, I hope you know it’s your responsibility to keep the last fully functional structure in my family’s name from burning down.” 

Toni smirks, taking Cheryl’s hand in hers and clasping their fingers together, “I think I can handle that.” 

 

It doesn’t take long for the serpents to feel right at home. 

Thistlehouse has a huge surrounding property, not to mention a pool, and nobody seems to have any objections to this being their temporary Tent City 2.0. 

That evening, after the sun sets, they even make their own makeshift fire pit, everyone crowding around the area, including Cheryl and Toni. 

Cheryl has to admit, when first seeing the serpents arrive she wasn’t exactly keen on this whole thing, but as the night continued, and she saw how happy everyone looked, she realized that maybe this would be better than she thought. 

It also helps whenever she thinks about how livid Penelope would be if she could see them right now. 

This would be her mother’s worst nightmare, and the thought is comforting to Cheryl. She’s truly living free from that woman’s wretched confines, and she feels lighter than she ever has in her whole life. 

Peaches has started telling ghost stories around the fire, but neither Cheryl nor Toni are really listening. 

“The things I do for you, Topaz,” Cheryl sighs tiredly, blinking her eyes closed as she leans against her girlfriend, Toni immediately wrapping her arm around Cheryl’s shoulders when she does. 

“You love it,” Toni grins, eyes fixated on her sleepy girlfriend, not paying any of her attention to the group around them. 

“I love _you_ ,” Cheryl corrects, and Toni beams when she does. 

“You tired, baby?” Toni asks after a moment, using one hand to hold the side of Cheryl’s face, where she looks like she’s seconds away from falling asleep in Toni’s embrace. 

“Yeah,” Cheryl hums, “Can’t wait to get off the ground and into a real bed with you, TT.” 

Toni winces at that, taking her bottom lip between her teeth nervously, as she tries to decide how to phrase her next words. 

Cheryl, having her eyes closed, doesn’t notice Toni’s sudden apprehension, though it doesn't take long for her to catch on after Toni opens her mouth and carefully speaks, “Right...about that…”

Cheryl pops her eyes open, lifting her head to look at her girlfriend with one brow raised, “Toni?” she prompts. 

Toni looks guilty, not exactly meeting Cheryl’s eyes as she poorly explains, “Well, uh, I thought maybe we could sleep out here tonight, you know, just to make sure everyone is okay, and uh, I want them to know we’re equals to them and everything…” she trails. 

Cheryl groans, burying her face in Toni’s shoulder before mumbling, “You’re going to make sleep in a tent when our bed is fifty feet away from us.” 

“We don’t have to,” Toni rushes out, “You’ve already been so good today, I just thought—” 

“No,” Cheryl interrupts through a sigh, “I think we’ve already established I’m willing to sleep on the disgusting ground for you, TT.” 

“Really?” Toni grins. 

“Yes,” She sits back up to meet Toni’s eyes, “We can sleep in a real bed tomorrow though, right?” 

“Of course,” Toni nods, grabbing Cheryl’s face and peppering it in kisses, which the redhead starts giggling at. 

“You’re the best,” Toni tells her. 

“I know,” Cheryl cockily responds. 

 

“What if there are bugs?” Cheryl worries, crawling into her and Toni’s tent for the evening, the other girl already inside laying out a couple sleeping bags. 

“I’ll protect you,” Toni smirks. 

“What if there are bears?” Cheryl continues, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Toni snorts, “Cheryl, you do know we’re still in your backyard, right? You ever see bears back here before?” 

“It’s a hypothetical, Toni,” She huffs. 

Toni rolls her eyes, “Well I’ll protect you then too.” 

“Against a bear?” Cheryl quips, crawling a bit closer as Toni finishes setting up. 

“Against anything. Nothing hurts my girl,” Toni hums as the two girls lay down, facing each other. 

“That’s sweet, TT, but if there really was a bear, please don’t try to fight it,” Cheryl tiredly requests, inching closer towards her girlfriend. 

Toni smiles softly, and fixes a piece of Cheryl’s hair behind her ear. 

“Turn around,” she whispers, Cheryl doing so immediately, and then Toni spoons her from behind, wrapping her arms tight around the girl’s middle and resting her head on her shoulder. 

“Thank you for today, Cher. I know you’re only putting up with all this for me, but I’ll make it up to you, okay?” 

“Don’t be silly, TT,” Cheryl sleepily tells her, “Just cuddle me and promise not to let go and we can call it even.” 

Toni smiles, squeezing her girl even closer to her body. 

“Deal.” 

\--- 

Cheryl Blossom was stubborn. 

She has been for as long as she could remember. 

In her mind, there is a certain way things are supposed to be, and when things stray from her vision of perfection, she simply couldn’t allow it. 

Well, she tried not to allow it anyway, but even Cheryl can’t deny that her sheer willpower doesn’t stand much of a chance against the universe itself. 

Life has taught her that time and time again. 

But as we’ve established, she’s stubborn. So, of course, she’s going to at least try to ignore the things she can’t control. 

Such as things like catching the common cold.

When Cheryl was seven years old she caught a cold that rendered her practically useless for the better half a week. She spent all day under the covers in bed, no one came to check on her, and her mother only scoffed and called her dramatic before promptly leaving the house with her sick seven year old home alone. 

Cheryl remembers that her throat hurt so bad she couldn’t even speak, she remembers that her bedroom felt dreadfully suffocating which made it near impossible to breathe, and she remembers her head pounding painfully against her skull, only made worse by her quiet crying that lasted the whole day. 

It was the worst, and when Cheryl eventually got better, she decided right then and there that she would never get sick again. 

She didn’t care if technically that wasn’t a thing people were allowed to just decide. Cheryl was stubborn, so screw the universe and all it’s unfair rules, Cheryl Blossom didn’t get sick anymore, it was that simple. 

It was that simple, until it wasn’t anymore. 

Cheryl woke up this morning with that familiar scratch in the back of her throat, the beginning stages of a headache coming on, and her face feeling hotter and looking rosier than usual. 

But she didn’t get sick, so she ignored the obvious signs of a cold that were plaguing her body, and got ready for the day as per usual. 

“You feeling alright, babe?” Toni frowns as they’re about to leave for school, placing her hand over Cheryl’s cheek and feeling the uncharacteristic warmth there. 

Cheryl quickly takes her girlfriend’s hand and pulls it away, giving the other girl a wide, yet in denial, smile, “I have never been better, my dear TT” she says, more so trying to convince herself than Toni. 

Toni raises one brow, looking at the other girl suspiciously as she speaks, “I think you’re getting sick.” 

Cheryl scoffs, “I don’t get sick.” 

“Everyone gets sick,” Toni counters, stopping the pair right as they get to Cheryl’s car, Toni refusing to walk around to the passenger side quite yet. 

“Not me,” Cheryl declares, looking at Toni pointedly, silently daring her to say just one more thing on the topic. 

Toni rolls her eyes, though the action is entirely playful. 

“Fine, but if you happen to start feeling sick, please tell me. You shouldn’t be at school if you aren’t feeling well,” Toni bargains. 

Cheryl nods, “Sure, it’s not going to be a problem though.” 

“Mmhm,” Toni hums in slight amusement, moving around the car to the passenger side as Cheryl opens the door on the driver’s side. 

She may be dating the most stubborn girl on the planet, but Toni certainly wasn’t complaining. 

 

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Cheryl doesn’t start feeling any better as the day progresses. In fact, she’s now feeling much worse than this morning, but still, she refuses to do anything about it. She doesn’t get sick, so clearly this is just some kind of blip that will sort itself out by the end of the day. 

Toni notices, because of course she does.

At lunch, Cheryl doesn’t really eat, the very sight of food is sickening to her right now. Toni tries to feed her a couple of her fries, but Cheryl refuses and ducks her head into Toni’s neck instead. Toni doesn’t push the food thing, but she does take a bottle of water out of her bag and makes Cheryl drink the whole thing by the end of the lunch period. 

“It’s important to stay hydrated when you’re—” Toni starts to say, but the death glare Cheryl shoots her shuts her right up. 

“I am not sick,” Cheryl reminds her, looking about ready to chew off the heads of everyone in the general vicinity right about now. 

“I wasn’t going to say sick!” Toni defends, raising her hands in mock innocence, “I was going to say...cute! It’s important to stay hydrated when you’re so damn cute.” 

Cheryl huffs, finishing her water and opting to stay quiet for the rest of lunch after that. 

Despite her little mishap, Cheryl still demands Toni’s comfort, leaning against the other girl’s side and then pulling Toni’s arm around her too. 

And that’s when Toni learns that a sick Cheryl, is also a grumpy Cheryl. 

 

Cheryl’s in the locker room, where she’s supposed to be changing into her PE clothes, though she’s moving at an unbelievably slow pace, one of the last ones still in the changing room when usually she’s the first out. 

The thought alone of running laps or doing any physical activity at all right now is making her nauseous. Not to mention her head is still killing her, and she’s feeling close to the verge of tears again just like when she was seven years old in a very similar predicament. 

She wonders if she has any chance at all of getting out of this class by simply never leaving the locker room. 

They wouldn’t come looking for, would they? 

Her eyelids are suddenly ten times heavier than they were a second ago, and she’s pretty sure she wouldn’t have a problem passing out on the uncomfortable locker room bench for the rest of the period. 

Just in time, Toni comes shuffling into the room, and like the knight in shining leather that she is, she comes to a stop in front of an exhausted looking Cheryl and teasingly says, “What are you doing here, silly? We have an emergency Blue and Gold meeting this period, remember?” 

Cheryl furrows her brows, looking at her girlfriend in confusion, “What?” 

“Don’t worry, I already cleared it with Ms. Marlow, we better get out of here before we’re late,” Toni speaks, the smirk heavy in her voice, though Cheryl is still way out of it and very confused. 

“Toni, I’m not even apart of the Blue and Gold—”

Toni places her hand over Cheryl’s mouth, tilting her head and giving her a telling look, “Just go along with it, would you?” 

Cheryl gives it another second, before shrugging and slamming her locker door shut. 

She doesn’t know what Toni’s trying to do, but anything will beat running laps. 

“Good,” Toni nods, removing her hand from Cheryl’s mouth, and bringing it down to clasp their two hands together instead. 

Toni leads them out of the locker room and then out of the gym altogether. 

They walk down the halls silently, as Cheryl doesn’t really have the energy to ask Toni what the hell it is she’s doing. 

To the redhead’s surprise, Toni really does lead them to the Blue and Gold office, and for a second, Cheryl contemplates if she’s so out of it that she’s somehow managed to forget she really is a Blue and Gold member and her and Toni really are on their way to a club meeting right now. 

That can’t be right though. 

Cheryl would sooner admit to getting sick, before willingly join a club spearheaded by Betty Cooper. 

And she’s proven right as Toni leads them inside the empty office, not another person in sight. 

“What’s going on?” Cheryl questions. 

Toni leads her confused girlfriend over to the couch in the room, “Sit,” she instructs, and Cheryl does so without argument. 

“Betty said we could have this place for the rest of the day, no one will bother you here,” Toni explains, but it doesn’t quite answer Cheryl’s question. 

“And why, pray tell, would I need a place where no one can bother me?” 

Toni sighs heavily, and comes to sit next to Cheryl on the couch, turning towards the girl with concern in her eyes. 

“Because despite what you say, It’s pretty obvious you aren’t feeling good. If you don’t want to go home, fine, but I’m not letting you carry on with the rest of the school day when you’re clearly in pain. You can rest here, okay?” 

Cheryl pouts, and with her arms crossed over her chest she thinks over Toni’s words for a long time. 

She wasn’t sick but...maybe there was some truth to her not feeling her best. And Toni was right, she couldn’t continue on with the school day like this, it was torture and she wanted nothing more than to just take a nap and shut the world out. 

“...Fine, but I’m not happy about it,” Cheryl caves. 

Toni smiles, feeling relieved that Cheryl’s willing to rest without a fight. 

She leans up and kisses Cheryl’s forehead, taking note of how warm it still feels when she does. 

“Thank you, baby.” 

Cheryl lays down after that, her head in Toni’s lap, while the rest of her body sinks deeper into couch beneath her. 

It’s the first time she’s felt comfortable all day, Toni’s fingers threading through her hair, the loud buzz of her classmates finally gone, but most importantly, just having Toni close. Not in the next hallway over, or even a desk away from, having Toni right here, bodies touching and the gentle sound of Toni’s breathing greeting her ears, this is what makes Cheryl begin to feel better. 

Because how could she ever feel bad with Toni’s love so abundantly obvious. 

Cheryl falls asleep not too long after that, and with her stubborn girlfriend finally getting some much needed rest, Toni plans to quietly slip out and go back to class. 

But the longer she sits there, playing with Cheryl’s hair, watching the girl’s troubled face in her sleep, hearing her sniffle every minute or so from her stuffy nose, Toni realizes she doesn’t have it in her to leave Cheryl alone like this. 

The girl isn’t even awake, but Toni still can’t bare the thought of her being alone, or suffering through a fitful sleep that could be avoided with Toni’s presence. 

So they spend the rest of the school day there, Cheryl sleeping through most of it, but Toni doesn’t mind one bit. 

Cheryl wakes up about an hour before school ends, and Toni convinces her to go home early by telling her the day is almost over anyway. 

The two girls leave the Blue and Gold office hand in hand, Toni sending a quick thank you text to Betty for letting them use it all afternoon, before shoving her phone back in her pocket. 

Toni ends up driving too, Cheryl briefly protests, but the argument dies on her tongue as Toni wordlessly leads Cheryl to the passenger side, even doing up the girl’s seatbelt for her and kissing her cheek before closing the door. 

When they get home, Toni leads Cheryl straight upstairs, tucking her into the huge queen size bed, which thankfully Cheryl has no further objections too. 

“I’m going to make you some soup,” Toni tells her, cradling the side of Cheryl’s face. 

The redhead nods with sniffle, and can’t help but compare the moment to being sick as a little kid. She never got this kind of attention when she was sick as a kid. No one was there to make soup for her or tuck her into bed or even care about her much at all. 

No one loved her, not like Toni did anyway. 

And with tears silently collecting in the corner of her eyes, Cheryl defeatedly admits, “Toni, I think I’m sick.” 

Toni chuckles quietly, squeezing Cheryl’s hand tight in her own, “I know, baby.” 

“Can you bring me some medicine too?” Cheryl pouts. 

“I was already planning on it,” Toni smiles sadly, “Hold tight, I’ll go get it and then come right back.” 

Cheryl nods and hesitantly lets go of Toni’s hand. 

Toni takes care of her all night, making sure she takes her medicine, feeding her hot soup, keeping an eye on her temperature, and giving her lots of cuddles. 

 

When the next morning comes, Cheryl is far from better. Her throat is even worse than the previous day, making it difficult to talk, and Toni all but forbids her from even thinking about going to school. 

Toni stays home too, even though Cheryl makes her promise she’ll go back tomorrow regardless of how she’s feeling. She didn’t want Toni to fall behind just because of her. 

“Toni, you’re going to get sick,” Cheryl protests with a scratchy voice, as Toni crawls into bed behind her and wraps her arms tight around the girl. 

“I don’t care,” Toni tells her, “This makes you feel a little better, doesn’t it?” 

Cheryl sighs in content, “Yeah,” she mumbles, relaxing into her girlfriend’s hold. 

“Well then I’m not going anywhere,” Toni promises. 

“I love you,” Cheryl quietly confesses. 

Toni smiles, “I love you too.” 

\--- 

Toni stretches her arms out with a yawn, as her and Cheryl exit the front door of Thistlehouse, Cheryl hanging back to lock the door behind them while Toni starts walking to the other girl’s car. 

It’s bright and early on a monday morning, a whole hour earlier than when they usually leave for school, but for some reason that Toni still doesn’t know, Cheryl insisted they wake up and get ready way ahead of schedule today. 

When Cheryl first woke her up, Toni was too sleep deprived to ask questions, her body entered auto pilot as she allowed Cheryl to drag her through their morning routine, but in her mind, Toni was still sound asleep under the covers. 

As Cheryl was making them some breakfast, Toni sat at the kitchen table and checked her phone for the first time that morning, instantly being greeted by the 6:30am time, and furrowing her brows in confusion as she looked up at her girlfriend. 

“Uh, Cher? Why are we up this early, we still have two hours before school starts,” She whines, resting her head on the table in the process. 

Cheryl, very rarely affected by morning grumpiness, simply approaches Toni with a couple Eggo waffles and a side of strawberries on a plate, placing it in front of the girl and then kissing her temple sweetly. 

“Eat up, ma cherie,” She smiles, leaving Toni’s question unanswered, though the girl doesn’t mind all that much. She has a plate of food in front of her and a beautiful girl sitting across from her, so really there isn’t all that much to complain about. 

Toni figures Cheryl must have some extracurricular or project that’s demanding her presence at school with almost a full hour and a half to spare, she just hopes to God it’s not vixens related. Toni wasn’t exactly in the mood for cheering and dancing at 7am in the morning. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Cheryl calls after her, Toni stopping in her tracks when she does. 

“The car?” She replies unsurely, spinning around to see Cheryl sauntering over to her with a smirk on her face. 

The redhead fishes something out of her pocket, and then holds the object flat on her palm in front of Toni. 

It’s the key to her bike, she didn’t even realize but Cheryl must have snatched it from her jacket sometime before they left the house. 

“You wanna take my bike to school?” Toni asks, taking the key out of Cheryl’s hand. 

“Mmhm,” Cheryl hums, and then, “But...you don’t have to go to school right away, we do have lots of time after all.” 

Toni narrows her eyes in slight suspicious as she asks, “Wait a second, you woke me up in what’s practically the middle of the night just because you wanted to go for a ride before school?” 

Cheryl rolls her eyes, “First of all, I woke you up at half past five, that’s hardly the middle of the night. Secondly...yes.” 

Toni chuckles softly, “You could have just told me that’s what you wanted to do, you know.” 

Cheryl shrugs, her fingers finding the end of Toni’s jacket to toy with. 

“We used to go for rides before school all the time...I thought it’d be a nice surprise to bring that back, even if it’s just today.” 

Toni nods, “You’re right, it’s been too long. I’ve missed having you on the back of that bike.” 

“Yeah?” Cheryl smiles. 

“Yeah,” Toni confirms, “Now come on,” She says while leading Cheryl towards the motorbike. 

“Safety first,” Toni grins, placing Cheryl’s helmet on the girl, before doing her own. 

“Where do you wanna go?” Toni asks, putting the key into the ignition, Cheryl already in place behind her, arms snaking across her middle. 

“Anywhere,” She sighs, “Just don’t stop for a long time.” 

“I can do that,” Toni speaks, squeezing one of Cheryl’s hands that’s resting just above her stomach, before bringing both hands to the handlebars and bringing the bike to life. 

There’s something about riding on Toni’s bike that Cheryl’s always loved. Something about the freedom of seeing the world whizz past her, the wind in her hair, the only thing grounding her being the feel of Toni’s back pressed against her front. 

They used to do this all the time, especially the first summer after they got together. That summer Cheryl spent a whole three months on the back of this bike, travelling the country with the girl she loved but didn’t have the courage to tell her so yet. They’ve really come so far since then. 

“Hold on tight,” Toni tells her, though the words aren’t necessary, Cheryl wasn’t planning on doing anything but that. They could be driving five miles an hour and Cheryl would hold on tight. 

Toni eases them out of the Blossom property before really picking up speed. It’s still too early for there to be many other cars out on the road, so Toni is able to drive freely, not needing to worry about slowing and stopping every couple of minutes. 

Cheryl sighs happily at the familiar feeling that she’s been missing, and it isn’t long before she rests her head on Toni’s leather clad back. 

This has always been her favourite part. 

This is why she fell in love with riding on the back of a motorcycle after previously believing that these bikes were nothing more than a metal deathtrap. 

There are few things that make her feel this close to Toni. There are few things that they do that she needs to put this level of complete and full trust into Toni. There are few things that remind her of that summer that she fell in love with Toni, but more so than reminding her, riding on the back of Toni’s bike truly transports her back to that time. 

As per Cheryl’s request, Toni drives around for a long time without stopping. She takes them around the quieter streets of Riverdale, eventually driving out towards the edge of town, taking them through the forest, the both of them just enjoying the scenery, and the way the early morning sun peeks through the trees standing tall all around them. 

They don’t stop until Toni reaches Sweetwater River, bringing the bike to a gentle stop about a 100 metres out from the shore where the dirt road ends. 

She turns the bike off so that they’re blanketed in silence, the loud roar of the engine fizzing out into nothing. 

They just sit there quietly for awhile, Cheryl with her arms still wrapped around Toni, and Toni now moving her hands to clasp her fingers through Cheryl’s. 

It’s been a long time since they’ve rode Toni’s bike together but it’s been even longer since they’ve visited Sweetwater. 

They used to come here often, and something about the destination must have called out to Toni because she didn’t even mean to take them here until the next thing she knows they’re sitting in front of the river, watching the still water glisten under the warm beams of the rising sun. 

“I’m glad you woke me up for this,” Toni says eventually, and Cheryl smiles softly into her back at the words.

“I knew you would be,” she hums. 

“We should probably leave soon if we want to make it to school on time,” Toni mentions, though she doesn’t exactly sound enthusiastic about it. 

“Not yet,” Cheryl requests, “This is worth being late for.” 

“You’re right,” Toni smiles, taking in the beautiful lake in front of them, knowing that an even more beautiful girl is hugging her close from behind, and nothing could pull her away from this moment so soon. 

She wouldn’t trade it for the world, because the world will never be able to offer her anything more valuable than a quiet morning spent in the arms of the girl she loves.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! feel free to drop a kudos or a comment if you liked it :)  
> my tumblr @cheryl-in-a-barrel  
> my twitter @toninabarrel


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